A blog launched on the 41st anniversary of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), the first pro-life organisation in the world, established on 11 January 1967. SPUC has been a leader in the educational and political battle against abortion, human embryo experimentation and euthanasia since then. I write this blog in my role as SPUC's chief executive, commenting on pro-life news, reflecting on pro-life issues and promoting SPUC's work.

Wednesday, 16 October 2013

Tell your MEPs to vote no to pro-abortion report

SPUC is calling on all pro-lifers to contact their MEPs, asking them to vote against a forthcoming report to be debated and voted on in a European Parliament plenary session, either between 18-21 November or 9-12 December.

The report is called “Draft Report on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights”. This report comes from the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality. The Rapporteur is Edite Estrela MEP.
As ever with such reports, there are a few good sections, but the vast majority is deeply harmful and must be rejected.

Below are some of the very harmful sections that attack unborn children, school-aged children, the family, and the right of conscientious objection.

“G. whereas access to safe abortion is banned, except in very narrow circumstances, in three EU Member States (Ireland, Malta and Poland) and remains widely unavailable, though legal, through the abuse of conscientious objection or overly restrictive interpretations of existing limits”

“10. Recommends that, as a human rights concern, abortion should be made legal, safe, and accessible to all.”

“11. Underlines that even when legal, abortion is often prevented or delayed by obstacles to the access of appropriate services, such as the widespread use of conscientious objection, medically unnecessary waiting periods or biased counselling; stresses that Member States should regulate and monitor the use of conscientious objection so as to ensure that reproductive health care is guaranteed as an individual’s right, while access to lawful services is ensured and appropriate and affordable referrals systems are in place.”

“15. Calls on Member States to ensure compulsory, age-appropriate and gender-sensitive sexuality and relationship education for all children and adolescents (both in and out of school).”

European Dignity Watch has written an article with some background information about this report if you would like to know more.

Also, here are some arguments for you to use when writing to your MEPs about the report.

Abortion is the killing of innocent unborn children between conception and birth. No UN convention or EU treaty recognises killing unborn children as a human right. Britain, despite its liberal abortion law, does not recognise abortion as a human right. At a minimum the EU Commission states that it has no competence in this area, leaving it to EU Member States to decide on the issue of abortion. This position is also seen in the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, although court decisions have been used to pressurise countries like Ireland and Poland into legalising and liberalising abortion. As such it is deceptive and totalitarian to include human rights language concerning abortion in an EU parliament report. Various UN conventions recognise that the child has a right to life before and after birth. All people are created equal and all have the inherent right to life. EU Member State Malta recognises and protects the right to life from conception, so that all abortions are prohibited. Malta also has one of the best maternal health records in the world.

Conscientious objection is a basic human right, as seen in UN conventions, the Nuremberg principles, the EU Convention on Human Rights and the Charter of Fundamental Rights, and resolutions of the Council of Europe. It is an important right, especially for medical professionals. It’s ironic how the pro-abortion lobby want to invent new human rights yet restrict and curtain legitimate human rights like conscientious objection. Attacking conscientious objection under the guise of monitoring and regulation will simply mean doctors and nurses being forced to perform and participate in abortions directly or via delegation, or face losing their jobs. This can be seen in the ongoing SPUC legal case concerning the two Glasgow midwives.

Compulsory sex education is a favourite hobby horse of the pro-abortion brigade. Arguments that compulsory sex education educates children and lowers the rate of teen pregnancy have proved groundless; in fact the opposition is the case. In practice sex education sexualises children, exposes them to sexually explicit material and deviant sexual practices, and primes them for sex, backed up by easily available contraception and abortion referral, under the cover of confidentiality so that parents don’t find out. SPUC has long since campaigned to protect children and the rights of parents via the Safe at School campaign.

Please remember to forward any replies you receive from MEPs to SPUC's political department, either by email to political@spuc.org.uk or by post to SPUC HQ.

John Smeaton

About Me

I became involved in SPUC after graduating, when I established a branch in south London in 1974. I have worked full-time for SPUC for 39 years. I became chief executive of SPUC in the UK in 1996, having been general secretary since 1978. I was elected vice-president of International Right to Life Federation in 2005. At UN conferences in Cairo, Copenhagen, Beijing, Istanbul and Rome, I helped coordinate more than 150 pro-life/pro-family groups resulting in pro-life victories in Cairo, Istanbul and Rome. I was educated at Salesian College, London, before going to Oxford where I graduated in English Language and Literature. I qualified as a teacher, becoming head of English at a secondary school. I am married to Josephine. We have a grown-up family and we live in north London.

Acknowledgement

I am grateful to SPUC's staff, supporters and advisers for their help to me in researching, writing and producing this blog.

Sign up for email alerts

Twitter @spucprolife

Images

I believe that I am allowed to use the images accompanying my blog and that they are licence- and royalty-free. However if the owner or the licensor disagrees, please contact me and I will remove it immediately.